Does Color Psychology Matter In My Baby’s Nursery?

First of all, congratulations on your little bambino! If you’re new to this, you may be wondering what to do now. Picking out your nursery colors is a great way to have fun and relax during this crazy time. Sure, finding the best car seat and crib for your money is top-priority, but you also gotta cut loose. Just make sure to have fun with it and not take it too seriously (Little One is going to be more concerned with getting fed and changed promptly). So without further ado, let’s pick some colors!

Is Color Psychology Even A Real Thing?

First, let’s get to what color psychology really is and whether it’s a real thing. Nowadays, there is a lot of information circulated about color psychology that isn’t necessarily data-backed, argues marketer Gregory Ciotti in Psychology Today. For example, the concept that certain colors can evoke specific emotions. Instead, science suggests reactions to color are contextual, based on life experience. But what if you have a newborn who hasn’t yet had life experience?

What has been scientifically proven is that blue is overwhelmingly preferred by both genders (and for some reason males don’t like purple). While culturally, it’s blue for boys and pink for girls, it’s interesting to note that at one time the colors were actually assigned in the reverse! The lesson here is don’t let cultural expectations govern your palette choice. The idea of intrinsically feminine and masculine colors is completely bogus, although studies do show that males prefer bolder colors and females prefer softer colors.

If Not Psychology, What Should I Consider?

Now that we’ve established that there is no magical color that’s going to evoke total and complete bliss in your baby’s heart, here are some practical considerations.

At First Sight

Newborns can only see black, white and grey, but over the next 10-12 weeks they begin developing more focus and can see more colors. Red is the first color to see, so if you pick red as your nursery’s primary color this can be confusing for them. By five months of age, they are expected to have pretty good color vision.

Flexibility

Sticking to neutral tones will make it easier to change up your room so that it will grow with your child. For example, when Taylor grows out of her princess phase and starts getting into science, it would be more convenient to not be locked into pink and purple. If the room may be shared with a sibling someday, you may also consider keeping the colors gender-neutral.

Conclusion

While it can be easy to get wrapped up in details like nursery colors, the real things that’ll matter once your bundle of joy gets here will probably have nothing to do with decor. With that in mind, take a deep breath and enjoy this task without taking it too seriously!